Etymograph

English

leisure

Leisure comes from Old French loisir ‘to enjoy oneself’, and goes back to Latin licet ‘be permitted’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElicet1as licēre‘be permitted’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400loisir1‘to enjoy oneself’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400leisir1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500leyser1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1672leisure1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English leisure
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1672, William Temple: “The desire of leisure is much more natural than…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElicetWiktionary, English leisureas licēre‘be permitted’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400loisirWiktionary, English leisure‘to enjoy oneself’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400leisirWiktionary, English leisure
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500leyserWiktionary, English leisure
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1672leisureWiktionary, English leisure. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1672, William Temple: “The desire of leisure is much more natural than…”

Linked words

through Latin licet ‘be permitted’

license, illicit, licentious, 3 more

Today it means

noun Freedom provided by the cessation of activities.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “leisure”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin licet / leisure

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